Shadow Blades (The Cimmerian Cycle #2)

Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Once Isabel deemed him fit, they finalised their plans. The less they communicated the better. It was vital that they remained as hidden as possible. Cormac taught Isabel what he knew of climbing and stealth and was happy to see her easily adopt it into her own style. She seemed much happier than Cormac had seen her in long time. The thrill of action and adventure seemed to excite her as much as it did Cormac.

For Cormac, he was glad to have his partner back. Her presence gave him extra confidence and he didn't have to be so paranoid.

They left the hideout just after dusk on their first mission. Cormac stood for a minute, breathing in the fresh air and soaking in the moonlight. It felt so good to be out in the open again. His eyes scanned the city before him. The only movement on the roof tops was the fluttering of birds disturbed from their sleep and the prowling of cats.

He wasn't worried by the animals however; it was the flying red capes he was afraid of. Isabel nudged his side, her face obscured by her own black cloak. Cormac nodded and quickly mapped his path across the roof tops. He clambered onto the eve of the hideout roof and ran across it. He leapt onto the next building. He slipped a little as he landed but was not disheartened. He scrambled out of the way as Isabel flew next to him.

She touched down without making a single sound. Without wasting anymore time Cormac was off, leaping between roof tops. As they moved to the south of the city it took Cormac a little while to get his bearing. All the houses looked so alike.

Finally, he found the right house and he slipped through the window, rolling onto the floor. Isabel bounced in gracefully. Dust stirred all around them and they used their hands to bat it away from their faces. With little difficulty, Cormac found the floorboard and wrenched it open.

To his horror, his cloak and mask were gone.

"Very strange place to hide your gear," the voice came from behind them and Cormac whipped around, his hand on his knife's hilt.

Isabel took a step behind him, ready for a fight.

Rider was standing there, leaning against the wall, with Cormac's cloak and mask in his hands. He dropped them to the floor, pulling his own cloak around him and stepped forward. He had a lazy grin on his face and was resting his hand on his waist, where Cormac knew, he had a dagger concealed.

"What do you want Rider?" Cormac growled. Rider raised his eyebrows.

"You are meant to be dead," he said, "but here you are, very much alive."

"Point out the obvious why don't you?" Isabel said from Cormac's side.

He didn't turn to look at her as he was watching Rider's every move. He didn't like the way Rider's fingers were flexing around the hilt of his dagger. Rider narrowed his eyes at Isabel before switching to Cormac.

"How are you alive?" Rider snapped.

"What does it matter to you?" Cormac sneered. Of all the people from the guild that Cormac could have come across, he had to meet Rider. The assassin tilted his head to the side.

"I was merely curious, but as it is clearly a personal matter I will ignore it for now," he looked between Isabel and Cormac with a hint of a smile on his face.

"What do you want?" Cormac repeated.

Rider's head snapped back to upright position, "I want to let you know that if the guild finds out that you're alive they will hunt you down and kill you. I would, but quite frankly, you're not worth it," he looked down at his gloves, his eyes staring at Cormac through his eyelashes. "I want to propose a deal. I will continue to believe that you are dead and in return you let me into whatever you're planning."